Battle of Krasnoyarsk (1941) (Hitler's World)
The First Battle of Krasnoyarsk (2 October 1941 – 7 January 1942), referred in Soviet military history as the Krasnoyarsk Defensive Operation of World War II was a major battle which was fought between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union and the Empire of Japan and its Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere around the city of Krasnoyarsk from 2 October 1941 to 7 January 1942. It was part of the Amur-Lena Offensive and the Siberian Theater, the massive invasion of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union by the Empire of Japan in June 1941 and May 1939, respectively. Following the victories the Japanese gained in the Battles of Khalkhin Gol and the Battle of Ulaanbaatar from May to November 1939, the road to the rich energy and mineral resources in Siberia, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union was open and the Japanese Empire mustered for war with the Soviet Union. On 22 June 1941, the Empire of Japan launched the Amur-Lena Offensive, the largest invasion in history with the Japanese assault on the port of Vladivostok and over 5 million soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army's Kwantung Army and the Manchukuo Imperial Army invaded the USSR across the Siberian border from the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo. Meanwhile, the Empire of Japan's Axis allies led by Nazi Germany opened the Eastern Front after Nazi Germany launched Operation: Barbarossa, the invasion of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany. The Soviet Union was caught completely off guard by Operation Barbarossa, as it opened another front against the USSR. The USSR was now forced to fight on two fronts against Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan on the Eastern Front and the Far Eastern Front, respectively. Following the Soviet victory in the Second Battle of Lake Khasan in July and the Japanese victory in the Second Battles of Khalkhin Gol in August 1941, the Kwantung Army crossed the Siberian border and into Krasnoyarsk Krai. By early September, the Imperial Japanese Army had reached the outskirts of the city of Krasnoyarsk, near the Soviet-Mongolian border. Krasnoyarsk was the third largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk and Omsk, and an strategic important industrial city located on the Trans-Siberian Railway. On 2 October 1941, the Kwantung Army launched its strategic offensive towards Krasnoyarsk, after the Japanese had mustered 1,929,406 troops, 1,000 tanks, 14,000 artillery pieces and mortars, and 550 aircraft. The Soviet Supreme high command (Stavka) was forced to adopt a strategic defence, and the Soviet Far Eastern Front was tasked with the defence of Krasnoyarsk against the invading Japanese. Krasnoyarsk was defended by Marshal K. A. Meretskov's 1st Soviet Far Eastern Front, which comprised the 1st Red Banner Army, 5th Army, 25th Army, 35th Army, 9th Air Army, Chuguevsk Operational Group and the Amur River Flotilla. The 1st Soviet Far Eastern Front at the time of the Japanese strategic offensive consisted of 1,400,000 troops, 3,232 tanks, 7,600 artillery pieces and mortars, and 936 aircraft (of which 545 were serviceable). The Battle of Krasnoyarsk was the single largest and one of the bloodiest battles of the Amur-Lena Offensive. The battle ended on 7 January 1942, after the Red Army had launched an massive counter-offensive on 5 December 1941 which drove the Kwantung Army out of Krasnoyarsk. The Japanese suffered over 400,000 casualties while the Red Army suffered over 1,280,000 casualties. However, the Kwantung Army would regroup and launch an massive counter-offensive to retake Krasnoyarsk on 12 January 1942 as part of Japan's winter offensive. Category:World War II (Hitler's World) Category:Battles (Hitler's World) Category:Battles of the Soviet-Japanese War (Hitler's World)